| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | BLOW (2001) |
| Director | Ted Demme |
| Writer | David McKenna, Nick Cassavetes |
| Lead Actor | Johnny Depp |
| Cast | Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Franka Potente, Rachel Griffiths, Paul Reubens, Jordi Mollà, Ray Liotta |
| Genre | Biography, Crime, Drama |
| Release Date | April 6, 2001 (United States) |
| Duration | 2h 4m |
| Budget | $30 million |
| Language | English |
| IMDB Rating | 7.5/10 |
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BLOW: Johnny Depp’s charisma lights up this sad but powerful film about the rise and fall of George Jung, a big-time drug dealer. Director Ted Demme (Life) makes clear that the real-life Jung (now in prison until 2015) contributed significantly to the cocaine epidemic in America in recent decades.
The accompanying misery is for movies like Traffic to describe. (The two would make a nice double bill.) In Blow (the title is one of the street words for cocaine), there are some coke-snorting scenes but no ugly drug moments. The first half is a dark Horatio Alger success story in which George, a smart, aggressive young guy from the Boston area, goes to sinful, sunny California in the 60s and rises as a marijuana smuggler.
As he tells his disapproving dad (Ray Liotta), somewhat guiltily, “I’m really great at what I do.” Inevitably busted, George goes to prison and comes out with a “doctorate in cocaine.” His cellmate, a Colombian named Diego (Jordi Molla), gets him involved with drug lord Pablo Escobar, who wants to open up the American drug market. George is soon Escobar’s main importer to the United States.
George falls for a Colombian beauty (Penelope Cruz) who likes the money and lifestyle. He seems to have everything but feels his father’s judgment. (Liotta, the film’s moral center, plays a decent man who loves his son but cannot approve of what he does.) Ultimately, George is betrayed by friends for whom he has risked his life.
For a crime movie, Blow speaks eloquently about the values that are important in life. Although Depp carries the film, he gets plenty of help from others in the cast. Drug action and amoral sexuality, minimal genre violence; redeemed by a climax of repentance, love and reconciliation; recommended for mature audiences.
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